Guidance of autonomous vehicles in destination vicinities using intent signals

ABSTRACT

Signals usable to determine a path of a vehicle towards a particular stopping point in a vicinity of a destination are detected from an individual authorized to provide guidance with respect to movements of the vehicle. Based at least in part on the signals and a data set pertaining to the external environment of the vehicle, one or more vehicular movements to be implemented to proceed along the path are identified. A directive is transmitted to a motion control subsystem of the vehicle to initiate one of the vehicular movements.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/433,224 filed Dec. 12, 2016 titled “Guidance of AutonomousVehicles in Destination Vicinities Using Intent Signals” which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

This disclosure relates generally to systems and algorithms for usingvarious types of signals from occupants for controlling the motion ofautonomous or partially autonomous vehicles.

Description of the Related Art

Motorized vehicles which are capable of sensing their environment andnavigating to destinations with little or no ongoing input fromoccupants, and may therefore be referred to as “autonomous” or“self-driving” vehicles, are an increasing focus of research anddevelopment. Given the multiplicity of choices that are typicallyavailable with respect to vehicle trajectories in real-worldenvironments, occupant input or guidance with regard to selectingvehicle trajectories (without requiring traditional steering, braking,accelerating and the like) may be extremely valuable to the motioncontrol components of such vehicles. However, providing interfaces forsuch guidance which are intuitive and easy to use, especially withinenvironments such as parking lots for which detailed and/or accuratemapping data may not be available, may present a non-trivial challenge.

SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments of methods and apparatus for guidance of autonomousor semi-autonomous vehicles in destination vicinities using intentsignals are described. In at least some embodiments, a method maycomprise obtaining, at a navigation manager implemented using one ormore computing devices, an indication of a destination of a vehicle(such as a large retail store, an office complex, a shopping mall or thelike), where the vicinity of the destination comprises numerous vehiclestopping points (such as parking spaces). A route towards thedestination may be identified, and the vicinity of the destination maybe reached. At this point, finer-grained guidance regarding the actualstopping point of the vehicle may be needed. The method may furthercomprise detecting, using one or more sensors, one or more signalsgenerated by an individual authorized or permitted to provide guidancewith respect to movements of the vehicle. In embodiments in which thevehicle comprises the equivalent of a conventional steering wheel, theauthorized individual is assumed to be one who is not currently steeringthe vehicle using the steering wheel. The signals may be usable todetermine a path, corresponding to an intent or goal of the individual,towards a particular vehicle stopping point in the vicinity of thedestination. At least some of the signals may be obtained via a sensorthat is mechanically decoupled from steering subsystems of thevehicle—so, for example, if the vehicle comprises a steering wheel or ananalogous steering component, such signals may be detected using sensordevices which are not physically attached to or part of the steeringwheel or steering component.

Any of a variety of signal modalities and/or interfaces may be usedsingly or in combination to discover the intent of the authorizedindividual in various embodiments. For example, in some cases, theindividual may gesture towards an intended parking space in a parkingarea, and combine the gesture with the voice command “Park over there”.In another embodiment, the individual may use a touch-sensitiveinterface, such as a screen of a mobile phone or tablet device, to markan intended stopping point, trace a path towards a particular area orstopping point, or indicate an intended direction of motion via avirtual joy-stick interface. In some embodiments, the signals maycomprise a voice command indicating a landmark or sign which may bevisible from the vehicle, such as the equivalent of “Park near thegardening supplies entrance” or “Park near the cafeteria entrance”.Based at least in part on the detected signals and at least in part on adata set indicative of the external environment of the vehicle (such asdata collected via one or more externally-oriented cameras of thevehicle), one or more vehicular movements which would enable progress tobe made along a path towards an intended stopping point may bedetermined by the navigation manager. The method may further comprisetransmitting a first directive to one or more motion control subsystemsof the vehicle (such as an acceleration subsystem, a braking subsystem,a steering/turning subsystem and so on) to initiate at least a firstvehicular movement of the one or more vehicular movements.

In some embodiments, the signals detected from the individual, which maybe termed intent signals herein, may indicate a task or activity thatthe individual wishes to perform. For example, if the individual states“I'd like to buy some plants for my garden” in the vicinity of a largeretail store, the navigation manager may determine that the vehicleshould preferably be parked near an entrance marked “gardening” or“gardening supplies”. In one embodiment, corresponding to one or moredestinations, respective elements of a multi-option menu may bepopulated with several tasks or activities which can be mapped by thenavigation manager to respective sets of stopping points. Such amulti-option menu may be provided to the individual, for example, via adrop-down menu of a text-based interface which can be used by theindividual to provide conversational-level guidance to the navigationmanager. In one example implementation, using a first level of atwo-level text-based guidance procedure, the individual may firstindicate the equivalent of “Let's go to the large retail store <LRS>”,and then using the second level, the individual may select from amongthe options “Park near the <main entrance>”, “Park near the <gardeningentrance>”, “Park near the <appliance pickup entrance>”, etc., dependingon the information available to the navigation manager regarding theindividual's likely stopping point preferences with respect to thestore. The information about possible classes of stopping points may beobtained in some embodiments from a mapping application or based on ananalysis of the vicinity using externally-oriented cameras or othersensors. In various embodiments, in response to detecting that thevicinity of the destination has been reached, the navigation manager mayrequest input from the authorized individual, e.g., by causing a voicesignal similar to “We are nearing the store. Shall I park near the mainentrance?” to be generated. Default criteria may be used to select astopping point if the individual fails to provide timely input in someembodiments.

According to one embodiment, a system may comprise one or more sensordevices and a navigation manager associated with a vehicle. Thenavigation manager may detect, using the one or more sensor devices, oneor more signals generated by an individual permitted to provide guidancewith respect to movements of the vehicle. The signals may be usable todetermine a path towards a particular vehicle stopping point of aplurality of vehicle stopping points in a vicinity of a destination.Based on an analysis of the signals and data pertaining to the externalenvironment of the vehicle, one or more vehicular movements which wouldenable the vehicle to move along a path towards the stopping point maybe identified. The navigation manager may transmit one or more motiondirectives to a motion control subsystem of the vehicle to initiate atleast one of the vehicular movements.

According to some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-accessiblestorage medium may store program instructions that when executed on oneor more processors detect, using one or more sensor devices, one or moresignals generated by an individual permitted to provide guidance withrespect to movements of a vehicle. The signals may be usable todetermine a path towards a particular vehicle stopping point of aplurality of vehicle stopping points in a vicinity of a destination.Based on an analysis of the signals and data pertaining to the externalenvironment of the vehicle, one or more vehicular movements which wouldenable the vehicle to move along a path towards the stopping point maybe identified. A motion directive may be transmitted to a motion controlsubsystem of the vehicle to initiate at least one of the vehicularmovements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system environment in which movements ofan autonomous vehicle in the vicinity of a destination may be guided atleast partly by intent signals provided by an occupant of the vehicle,according to at least some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example parking lot within which navigationdecisions may be made by components of an autonomous vehicle based onintent signals, according to at least some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example interaction between a navigation managerof an autonomous vehicle and an occupant of the vehicle, according to atleast some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example vehicle environment comprising a pluralityof sensors which may collect data that can be analyzed to determine theintended tasks or goals of individuals authorized to provide navigationguidance, according to at least some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example touch-based interface which may be used bya vehicle occupant to trace a detailed path towards a termination pointof a journey, according to at least some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example touch-based virtual joystick interfacewhich may be used by a vehicle occupant to indicate desired movements ofthe vehicle relative to its current position, according to at least someembodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example text-based interface with entries whichmay be pre-populated based on task contexts to provide navigationguidance, according to at least some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example scenario in which a gesture made using ahandheld computing device or phone may be used to provide navigationguidance, according to at least some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example scenario in which a gesture or touchsignal provided by an authorized individual outside a vehicle may beused to guide minor adjustments of the position of the vehicle,according to at least some embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example spectrum of navigation manager autonomy,according to at least some embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of operations which maybe performed at a system which enables guidance of vehicle navigationvia intent signals, according to at least some embodiments.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing device thatmay be used in at least some embodiments.

While embodiments are described herein by way of example for severalembodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art willrecognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments ordrawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings anddetailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments tothe particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within thespirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings usedherein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be usedto limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughoutthis application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e.,meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e.,meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and“includes” mean including, but not limited to. When used in the claims,the term “or” is used as an inclusive or and not as an exclusive or. Forexample, the phrase “at least one of x, y, or z” means any one of x, y,and z, as well as any combination thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system environment in which movements ofan autonomous vehicle in the vicinity of a destination may be guided atleast partly by intent signals provided by an occupant of the vehicle,according to at least some embodiments. As shown, system 100 comprises anavigation manager 150 of an autonomous vehicle, sensors 125 fordetecting signals of various modalities (such as gestures, voicedcommands, etc.) generated by individuals such as occupants of thevehicle, data sources 115 providing information regarding the externalenvironment of the vehicle, one or more communication devices 120, andvarious motion control subsystems 170 of the vehicle (such as subsystemsfor braking, turning or accelerating the vehicle). The navigationmanager may comprise part or all of one or more computing devices in thedepicted embodiment. At a high level, among other functions, thenavigation manager 150 may be responsible for detecting and interpretingintent signals of various types from one or more individuals authorizedto provide guidance regarding movements of the autonomous vehicle, andfor identifying or selecting paths to be taken by the vehicle at leastin the vicinity of a destination (e.g., in a parking lot near a buildingwhich the individual is going to enter after exiting the vehicle) inaccordance with the intent signals and other input data. In the contextof an autonomous or partially autonomous vehicle, an intent signal, asthe term is used herein, refers to a signal generated by a non-drivingindividual, which indicates an objective associated with a journey beingundertaken using the vehicle. Intent signals may also be referred to asintention signals herein. A non-driving individual may be defined as onewho is not currently using a steering wheel or other traditional controlmechanisms of the vehicle. In various embodiments, at least a subset ofthe intent signals may be obtained via sensor devices or interfaces thatare mechanically decoupled from steering or other control subsystems ofthe vehicle. For example, if the vehicle comprises a steering wheel,some or all of the signals may be detected using sensor devices whichare not physically attached to or part of the steering wheel.

Objectives or intentions regarding the vehicle journey may be indicatedusing a variety of signal types and interfaces, and at various differentlevels of granularity in different embodiments. For example, the intentof the individual may be indicated by some combination of a voicedcommand, a gesture or gaze, a touch-sensitive graphical user interface,a movement of a phone or other handheld/portable device to indicate adesired direction of movement, and so on. In at least one embodiment, anindividual may indicate a task or activity that the individual wishes orintends to accomplish, and the navigation manager may translate thetask/activity into a sequence of trajectory changes or vehicularmovements to facilitate the task. Individual ones of the sensors 125and/or the environmental data sources may comprise, for example, videoand/or still cameras, depth sensors or cameras, inertial sensors,electromagnetic signal detectors, ultrasonic signal detectors, radarsignal detectors, microphones, remote control devices, and the like. Forgaze detection, in addition to still or video cameras, non-camera-basedoptical sensors or EMG (electromyography) sensors may be used in someembodiments.

According to at least some embodiments, an indication of a destinationof a journey may be obtained by the navigation manager 150. For example,a street address or a name of a large retail establishment, a hospital,an office building, or the like may be indicated via a voiced command, amap or GPS interface and the like. The information regarding thedestination may be sufficient to generate a route using one or moreroads or highways for the autonomous vehicle, enabling the vehicle toreach the vicinity (at least in some cases) without substantialguidance. However, the destination may have numerous potential vehiclestopping points (e.g., parking spaces or slots) associated with it, anda final decision regarding exactly which stopping point should beselected for the vehicle may have to be made after the vehicle hasreached the vicinity of the destination. For example, if the destinationis a large retail store, a train station, or an airport, there may beseveral different entrances, of which only a few may be appropriate forthe vehicle's occupants given their objectives and the current state ofthe parking or traffic nearby. In various scenarios, it may not bepossible to select the particular stopping point (or even a generalsub-area within the vicinity of the destination within which aparticular stopping point should be identified) before the vicinity ofthe destination is reached, e.g., because of dynamically changingoccupancies of the stopping points and/or because of dynamicallychanging intentions of the individual. In at least one embodiment, whenthe vehicle nears the destination, the navigation manager 150 may detectthat the vicinity of the destination has been reached, and request thatan authorized occupant provide some input regarding a preferred stoppingpoint or intent.

Using the sensor devices 125, one or more signals generated by anindividual permitted to provide guidance with respect to movements ofthe vehicle may be detected. The signals may be generated either inresponse to a request from the navigation manager, or on theindividual's own initiative. The signals may be usable by the navigationmanager 150 to identify a potential path towards a particular vehiclestopping point (e.g., a particular parking space near a selectedentrance to a building) or a group of stopping points in the depictedembodiment. For example, if a large retail store has a main entrance, aseparate gardening supplies entrance, and another separate entrance forpicking up large appliances, and the authorized occupant of the vehicleindicates an intent to purchase gardening supplies, a parking space nearthe gardening entrance may be more appropriate than a parking space nearone of the other entrances. Based at least in part on the signals fromthe individual, and/or on data collected about the external environment(such as approaching vehicles which may be in the way, occupied parkingspaces, etc.) obtained from environment data sources 115, one or morevehicular movements (e.g., continuing moving in the current direction,making a turn, etc.) to enable the vehicle to proceed along a selectedpath may be identified. Motion directives 162 to implement the vehicularmovements may be transmitted to one or more of the motion controlsystems 170, causing the vehicle to progress towards a particularstopping point.

In the depicted embodiment, the navigation manager may comprise a numberof subcomponents, including for example an identity verifier 151, avicinity-based interaction initiator 152, a stopping point optiongenerator 153, one or more intent signal interpreter(s) 154, afeedback/approval coordinator 155, and/or a directive generator 156. Theidentity verifier 151 may be responsible for ensuring that only intentsignals generated by authorized individuals are used to guide thenavigation of the vehicle. A number of techniques may be used toidentify authorized individuals in different embodiments, including forexample biometric signals, electronic identification devices such askeys which emit electromagnetic signals with particular characteristics,and so on. In some embodiments, more than one individual may bepermitted to provide navigation guidance with respect to a particularautonomous vehicle, and the identity verifier 151 may assign relativepriorities to the different individuals so that, at a given point intime, the navigation manager is able to resolve any conflicting intentsignals from multiple individuals. As discussed below in further detail,in at least one embodiment, an individual may provide an intent signal(e.g., to adjust the position of the vehicle slightly so that is betteraligned with the boundaries of a parking space) from outside thevehicle, and the identity verifier 151 may be designed to check suchnon-occupant individuals' identities in such embodiments.

The vicinity-based interaction initiator 152 may be responsible fordetermining when the vehicle has reached within a threshold distance ofa destination or destination vicinity, and requesting an authorizedindividual to provide an intent signal indicating preferences forstopping points. Examples of interfaces and signal modalities which maybe used to interact with individual to request and/or receive intentsignals are provided below. It is noted that in various embodiments, bydefault, the navigation manager may choose a methodology to be used toselect a stopping point if no input is provided by the authorizedindividual. For example, in the scenario where the destination is alarge retail store with one main entrance and several other entrances, aparking space near the main entrance may be selected by default.

In at least one embodiment, given a general indication of a destinationsuch as an office building or a retail store, stopping point optiongenerator 153 may be able to populate a list of possible or likelystopping points. Such a list may be based on a variety of factors indifferent embodiments, including for example various tasks associatedwith the destination which the occupants of the vehicle have performedin the past. With respect to a particular office building, in oneexample scenario the navigation manager may have access to recordsindicating that (a) a particular entrance E1 is near a cafeteria, that(b) an occupant of the vehicle often has lunch at the cafeteria and (c)that the current time corresponds approximately to a time at which theoccupant has eaten lunch frequently in the recent past. Given thisinformation, the option generator 153 may include a parking space nearE1 in a list of stopping points likely to be of interest to theoccupant. In at least some embodiments, as discussed below in furtherdetail, a context-dependent drop-down menu of options to be used for atext-based interface usable to indicate the occupant's intent may begenerated with the help of stopping point option generator 153.

Signals of various types, such as gestures, changes of gaze, voicesignals, touch-screen based signals, and the like may be used singly orin combination by individuals to indicate their intent regarding themovement of the vehicle in the depicted embodiment, One or more intentsignal interpreters 154 may be responsible for processing theinformation provided by sensors 125, in effect translating the receivedsignal information into approximate goals regarding the future positionof the vehicle. The approximate goals may then be converted intospecific lower-level motion directives 162 (e.g., “move the vehicleforward M1 meters”, then “turn right and move M2 meters”) that can beprovided to the control subsystems 170 by directive generator 156. Thedifferent types of signals (e.g., gestures versus gaze versus voiceversus touch-screen signals) may be referred to as respective signalingmodes or signal modalities, and the analysis of combination of signalsof different modalities from an individual to gauge the individual'spreferences or intentions may be referred to as multimodal signalanalysis; as such, systems similar to those shown in FIG. 1 may also bereferred to as multimodal signal analysis systems. In some embodiments,a combination of several signaling modes may be used to indicate anindividual's intent—e.g., a voiced command “park over there” may beaccompanies by a gesture indicative of the direction corresponding tothe word “there”.

In at least some embodiments, a feedback/approval coordinator 155 of thenavigation manager 150 may be configured to determine, prior to theissuance of at least some motion directives 162, that the planned motionis acceptable or in accordance with the goal or intent of the individualproviding the navigation guidance. The feedback/approval coordinator maybe implemented, for example, as a voice-based assistant, or using adisplay device on which the effect of the proposed motion directives onthe position of the vehicle can be shown. The feedback/approvalcoordinator 155 may, in effect, request the individual to confirmvarious decisions made by the navigation manager regarding the vehicle'strajectory. In some cases, the intent of the individual may be ambiguousor hard to translate into specific motion directives, and thefeedback/approval coordinator may attempt to disambiguate among thechoices by involving the individual. For example, if a respectiveunoccupied parking space is available near two different signs (sign Aand sign B) in a parking lot, and the individual has made a gesture thatcould be interpreted to mean the vehicle should be parked near either ofthe signs, the feedback/approval coordinator 155 may generate thelogical equivalent of the query “Did you mean ‘park near sign A’, or‘park near sign B’?”. The feedback provided by the individual may beused to select a particular set of motion directives to be issued by thenavigation manager in such scenarios.

In addition to local sensors 125 usable to detect vehicleoccupant-generated signals and environmental data sources 115, thenavigation manager 150 may also utilize one or more communicationdevices 120 in the depicted embodiment, e.g., to obtain data fromvarious remote databases and the like. Such data obtained from remotesources may include, for example, map records, records of local trafficlaws, records of the previous history of tasks/activities performed byvehicle occupants and the like, any combination of which may be helpfulin determining motion directive options for the vehicle in variousembodiments. In one embodiment, the communication devices 120 may beused to communicate with other autonomous or partially-autonomousvehicles during the course of the journey or in the vicinity of thedestination. For example, a different autonomous vehicle may provide anindication of a portion of a parking area with numerous parking spacesvia such communications.

As mentioned earlier, intent signals of various modalities may be usefulin scenarios involving parking decisions, especially in large parkinglots in which the distance between the selected parking space and anentry/exit of a building may be substantial. FIG. 2 illustrates anexample parking lot within which navigation decisions may be made bycomponents of an autonomous vehicle based on intent signals, accordingto at least some embodiments. In the depicted scenario, an individualhas indicated, using a destination specification interface 202 (such asa text-based interface, a voice-based interface, or a map-basedinterface), that an autonomous vehicle 270 is to proceed to a storenamed “LargeRetailStore1” on a highway “H1”. Based on the information204 provided via interface 202, the navigation manager of vehicle 270may thus have determined the vicinity of the destination, but theprecise stopping point (e.g., parking space) to which the vehicle shouldbe taken may not be selectable based on the information 204 alone. Asimplified top-down view 290 of the vehicle 270's surroundings as itnears LargeRetailStore1 along highway H1 is shown.

LargeRetailStore1 has a parking lot 230 which may be considered part ofthe destination vicinity. At the time at which vehicle 270 nears theparking lot 230, several of the parking spaces are occupied (indicatedby the label 240), while other parking spaces 220 are available (such asspots 220A, 220B, 220C and 220D). Two entrances/exits 205A and 205B canbe used to enter parking lot 230 from Highway H1 (and/or to leave theparking lot) in the depicted scenario.

The LargeRetailStore1 building 210 has several entry/exit points: a mainentrance 208, a second entrance 212 for gardening supplies, and a thirdentrance 214 for picking up large items such as appliances. In thedepicted embodiment, the navigation manager of the autonomous vehicle270 may select a particular available parking space 220 based at leastin part on detected intent signals from an occupant of the vehicle whois authorized to provide navigational guidance. For example, if theindividual indicates an intent to pick up an appliance, parking space220A near entrance 214 may be selected as a stopping point for vehicle270, and path 280A may be taken to reach parking space 220A. If theindividual indicates an intent to buy gardening supplies, parking space220B near entrance 212 may be selected and path 280B may be taken. Ifthe individual indicates an intent to use the main entrance 208,available parking space 220D may be selected, and path 280C may betaken. In addition to or instead of indicating entrances or exits, insome embodiments the intent signals detected by the navigation managermay indicate other semantic features of buildings, such as loadingdocks, wheelchair ramps, and the like. In some cases the features may besignaled by the individual using natural language phrases such as “wherethe sidewalk starts”. In at least some embodiments, by default, thenavigation manager may select the main entrance 208 as the one mostlikely to be used, and as a result a parking space near the mainentrance may be selected as the stopping point if no guidance isprovided by the individual. Factors other than proximity to an entrancemay be used to select paths and stopping points in some embodiments. Forexample, if parking lot 230 is extremely crowded (e.g., not just withvehicles, but with pedestrians), and as a result exiting the parking lotis anticipated to be tedious, and the individual expresses an interestin being able to leave the parking lot quickly, parking space 280C maybe selected as it is near a potential exit 205B. Any of a number ofsignal modalities and/or signaling interfaces may be used by theindividual to provide the intent information which can be interpreted bythe navigation manager to select a path towards an appropriate stoppingpoint in the depicted embodiment, and to issue the appropriatelower-level motion directives to the motion control systems of thevehicle 270. In addition to the intent signals themselves, thenavigation manager may also take into account the dynamically changingexternal environment of the vehicle—e.g., a different path may beselected if other vehicles and/or pedestrians appear to obstruct thefirst path identified to a selected parking space, or a differentparking space may be selected if one becomes available (or if a targetedparking space becomes occupied).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example interaction between a navigation managerof an autonomous vehicle and an occupant of the vehicle, according to atleast some embodiments. At a time T1 along timeline 301, a navigationmanager 350 of an autonomous vehicle detects that a threshold distanceto a destination has been reached, indicating that the vehicle is nownear enough to the destination that intent signals from an occupant maybe useful. Accordingly, a voice-based vicinity-triggered interaction 304is initiated in the depicted embodiment at a time T2 shortly after T1.To start the interaction, navigation manager 350 informs the occupant(s)of the vehicle that the destination “LargeRetailStore” is near, andrequests the occupants to indicate whether parking near the mainentrance of LargeRetailStore is acceptable.

At time T3, in response to the query from the navigation manager, anoccupant 310 authorized to provide navigation guidance provides a verbalsignal 306 of an intended task (an example of an intent signal). Theindividual may, as shown, indicate an intent to buy gardening supplies.In some cases, the intent signal may simply indicate the task to beperformed, and the navigation manager may be responsible for translatingthe “buy gardening supplies” task to a particular part of a parking lot“near the gardening entrance”. In other scenarios, the intent signal mayprovide some additional guidance such as an indication of a landmark orsign: e.g., the individual may say something similar to “I'd like to buygardening supplies. Can we park near that entrance with the green‘gardening’ sign?” or “I'd like to buy gardening supplies. Can we parknear the entrance where those customers are exiting with potted plantsin their carts?” The navigation manager may parse/interpret the intentsignal 206 and consult a mapping database, other data sources, as wellas information collected about its external environment (e.g., a signthat is labeled “Gardening Entrance” or the like) to identify optionswith respect to stopping points in view of the individual's intent. Aresponse 320 to the intent signal may be provided at time T4 in thedepicted example scenario, e.g., after the navigation manager 350 has(a) interpreted the intent signal(s) 306 and (b) identified at least aninitial portion of a path towards a stopping point which wouldfacilitate the intended task.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example vehicle environment comprising a pluralityof sensors which may collect data that can be analyzed to determine theintended tasks or goals of individuals authorized to provide navigationguidance, according to at least some embodiments. A simplified top-downview 410 of the vehicle's occupant area is provided. The vehicle may,for example, comprise a car, truck, golf-cart, all-terrain vehicle, orthe like. In at least some embodiments, at least some of the movementsof the vehicle may not require direct human control—e.g., the vehiclemay be able to park itself automatically, drive under some conditionswithout being guided by a human, and so on. Objects and regions whichmay be located at different depths with respect to each other (and maythus be obscured by each other or by other objects) in the vehicle areshown, even though at least some of the objects or regions may notactually be visible simultaneously in a more realistic depiction. Asindicated by arrow 459, the vehicle may be moving from left to right inFIG. 4. The vehicle may include two rows of seating areas in thedepicted embodiment: front seating area 402 and back seating area 405.For example, in one scenario two occupants may sit in each of theseating areas. One or more of the occupants in either row may beauthorized to provide navigational guidance for the vehicle in thedepicted embodiment, e.g., using intent signals rather than a steeringwheel or other conventional mechanisms.

The signal detection components of the vehicle may be designed tocapture gesture, gaze, voice and/or touch-based signals from theoccupants, and environmental signals from the exterior of the vehicle.Respective sets of internal-facing cameras and microphones (IFCMs) 422,such as IFCMs 422A-422D, may be configured to capture some types ofindications of intent from the occupants. Although four IFCMs are shown,so that respective IFCMs may be used for capturing signals fromrespective occupants in a four-occupant scenario, the relationshipbetween IFCMs and occupants need not be one-to-one in variousembodiments. For example, a single camera and/or a single microphone maybe used to collect signals from multiple occupants in some embodiments,and conversely, multiple cameras and/or microphones may be used tocapture a single occupant's signals in some conditions. In some cases,the mapping between the IFCMs 422 and the occupants may change withoccupancy—e.g., if there are only two occupants during some time period,two IFCMs may be directed towards each of the occupants; later, if twomore occupants occupy the vehicle, one IFCM may be directed towards eachoccupant. In addition to or instead of IFCMs, other devices (which maybe portable or moveable, and not physically attached to or incorporatedwithin the vehicle), such as phones, tablet computers or the like mayalso be used to capture intent signals in various embodiments.

Four external facing cameras (EFCs) 421A-421D may capture the scenesviewable from various parts of the moving vehicle in the depictedembodiment. As with the IFCMs, the relationship between EFCs andoccupants need not necessarily be 1:1 in at least some embodiments. Alocal navigation manager 425 comprising one or more computing devicesmay be located in the vehicle of FIG. 4, e.g., attached to the interiorroof or below the seats. In some embodiments, the local navigationmanager 425 may perform at least some of the analysis of the signalscollected by the IFCMs and the EFCs to help identify candidate optionsfor movements and paths to be taken by the vehicle. In otherembodiments, the local navigation manager 425 may offload some or all ofthe signal analysis and interpretation workload to one or more serversat a data center—e.g., the local component may transmit representationsof the signals to the servers, receive the results of analyses performedat the servers, and so on. In addition to a front display 434, thevehicle may also include one or more rear displays (RDs), such as RD433A and 433B in the depicted embodiment. Gestures made by one or moreoccupants, e.g., within a special three-dimensional interaction zone 471and/or elsewhere in the vehicle may be used to signal intent, and may beinterpreted by the navigation manager to select paths, generate motiondirectives, and so on. In at least some embodiments, multipleinteraction zones 471 may be established within the vehicle, e.g., forrespective occupants.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle may also be equipped withexternal pressure/touch sensors 474, such as 474A or 474B. Such sensorsmay be used, for example, to adjust the position of the vehicle byauthorized individuals while the individuals are outside the vehicle, asdiscussed below in further detail.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example touch-based interface which may be used bya vehicle occupant to trace a detailed path towards a termination pointof a journey, according to at least some embodiments. In the depictedembodiment, a touch-sensitive graphical user interface display 530 of adevice within the vehicle may be populated with a representation of thesurroundings of the vehicle. Such touch-sensitive graphical userinterfaces may also be referred to herein as “touch screens”. Thecurrent position of the vehicle itself may be represented, for example,by an icon 570 in the display, and dynamically updated as the vehiclemoves. In the depicted scenario, the LargeRetailStore building 510 withits entrances 508, 512 and 514 may be shown, together with variousparking spaces 540 of the associated parking lot. The informationdisplayed may be based on some combination of static informationcollected by the navigation manager of the vehicle (e.g., from a mappingdatabase, a satellite-based imaging database, or the like), and sensorinformation being collected by the vehicle's externally-orientedsensors. For example, in one embodiment, the general layout of theparking lot may be obtained from a static database, and the generallayout information may be overlaid in the display with a representationof the (currently occupied versus currently unoccupied) status of atleast some nearby parking spaces for which data can be collected by thevehicle's sensors.

An occupant of the vehicle may trace an intended path 580B towards astopping point 520A for the vehicle using the touch screen in thedepicted embodiment, e.g., by pressing down on the display of thevehicle icon 570 with a finger and displacing the icon in the desireddirection of movement. In some embodiments, the graphical view of thesurroundings may define a grid representing a plurality of discrete pathsegments which can be traversed by the vehicle within the destinationvicinity. That is, the path traced by the individual may be constrainedby the display, and arbitrary paths (such as paths which diagonallytraverse multiple parking spaces) may not be permitted. The navigationmanager may detect the individual's intended path by interpreting theindividual's interactions with the screen, and issue correspondingmotion directives to cause the vehicle to move along the path to theextent that such movements are feasible and safe (e.g., if some obstacleblocks movement along the path, the navigation manager may pause themovement of the vehicle and/or deviate from the intended path). Thedisplay may be dynamically updated as the vehicle moves. The individualmay not have to specify the entire path to an intended stopping pointall at once in the depicted embodiment—instead, for example, only thenext few desired movements of the vehicle may be indicated at a givenpoint in time.

In one embodiment, an individual may use an interface similar to thatshown in FIG. 5 to specify (e.g., using a particular icon such as a“pin” icon) a targeted location (such as a particular entrance of thebuilding 510, or a particular parking space) near which the individualwants the vehicle to be stopped, or to which the vehicle should bemoved, without necessarily tracing a path to the targeted location. Thenavigation manager may translate the indication of the targeted locationprovided via the interface to a feasible path and generate theappropriate motion directives accordingly.

In some embodiments, the touch screen display 530 may be part of aportable computing device (e.g., a tablet computing device or a smartphone) which is not necessarily or permanently integrated as a componentof the navigation manager or of the vehicle. In other embodiments, adedicated touch screen-equipped device intended primarily or exclusivelyfor navigation-related interactions of the vehicle may be employed. Inone embodiment, the device may connect wirelessly with other componentsof the vehicle, while in another embodiment a wired connection may beused.

In some embodiments, instead of using the path tracing approachdiscussed in the context of FIG. 5, other types of touch-basedinterfaces may be used to provide intent signals navigational guidance.FIG. 6 illustrates an example touch-based virtual joystick interfacewhich may be used by a vehicle occupant to indicate desired movements ofthe vehicle relative to its current position, according to at least someembodiments. As shown, the touch-sensitive display 630 may provide arepresentation of the surroundings of the vehicle in the vicinity of thejourney destination, with the current position of the vehicle itselfbeing represented by icon 640. In the scenario shown in FIG. 6, thevehicle is in the parking lot adjacent to a LargeRetailStore building610 with three exits 608, 612 and 614, similar to the environmentillustrated in FIG. 5.

In the depicted embodiment, a virtual joystick touch-based control 622is superimposed on the underlying representation of the vehicle'ssurroundings. The control 622 may, for example, comprise a circularregion at whose center a joystick icon is located by default. When thejoystick icon (shown as a shaded octagon in FIG. 6, although any of avariety of shapes or other icons may be used in various embodiments) ispressed on and moved forward by an individual authorized to providenavigational guidance, e.g., using a hand 654, this is interpreted as anintent to move the vehicle forward (without changing its currentorientation or direction of motion). The press-and-move-forward motion625 is translated by the navigation manager into one or more motioncontrol directives which cause the vehicle to proceed forward. As soonas the individual stops pressing the joystick icon, it may revert to itsdefault position in the center of the control. In some embodiments, theextent to which the joystick icon is moved towards the circumference ofthe circle may be interpreted as an indication of how far the vehicleshould be moved in the indicated direction. In one example scenario,assume that the radius of the circle containing the joystick icon isthree centimeters. If, for example, the joystick is moved twocentimeters forward, this would indicate that the vehicle should bemoved forward twice as far forward as in the case the joystick is movedone centimeter forward. In one embodiment, the relative speed at whichthe joystick icon is moved may be considered indicative of the relativespeed at which the vehicle should be moved. If the joystick is moved tothe right instead of forward, the navigation manager may generatedirectives to turn the vehicle right (assuming that the externalenvironment sensors indicate that a right turn is feasible from thecurrent location of the vehicle). Similarly, if the joystick is moved tothe left or backwards (downwards in FIG. 6), the vehicle may be made toturn left or move backwards (assuming those trajectory changes arefeasible).

As the navigation manager responds to the input received from theindividual's hand 654 via control 622, the icon 670 may be repositionedon the graphical user interface to reflect the change in the vehicle'slocation, and the map shown in the background may be re-centered as wellin the depicted embodiment. Eventually, using the intent signals fromthe joystick interface, the vehicle may be moved to a suitable parkingspace 640 for the task the occupants wish to accomplish. In someembodiments, other interfaces similar to the virtual joystick, such as avirtual trackball interface, may be used. In one embodiment, instead ofa virtual joystick or trackball, a physical joystick or trackball may beused.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example text-based interface with entries whichmay be pre-populated based on task contexts to provide navigationguidance, according to at least some embodiments. In the depictedembodiment, a touch sensitive display 730 shows that a correspondingvehicle (represented on the display by icon 770) is currently positionedat one of the parking spaces 740 within a parking lot adjacent to aLargeRetailStore building 710 with three entrances 708, 712 and 714.

An individual authorized to provide navigational guidance for thevehicle may be permitted to select various combinations of options froma text-based interface 722 using multi-option menus. For example, twolevels of detail regarding a next destination of the vehicle may beprovided using respective drop-down menus 725 and 727. Drop-down menu725 may be pre-populated with a number of personalized destinationchoices corresponding to the individual to whom the menu ispresented—e.g., “the office”, “my gym”, “the grocery store”, “thehospital”, etc. As indicated by the lack of exact addresses associatedwith the example choices shown, the navigation manager may expressdestination vicinity information in informal terms similar to those thatwould be used by a person familiar with the activities of theindividual. Thus, instead of supplying an address such as “1010 MainStreet” at which the office of the individual is located, the informalphrase “my office” may be used to populate one of the option slots ofthe drop-down menu 725. The set of options may be selected based on thecontext-dependent history of journeys undertaken by the individual inthe past in some embodiments—e.g., if the individual typically heads tothe office at around 8:30 AM on a weekday and the current time is 8:15AM on a Monday, “the office” may be considered one of the more probablechoices for a next destination.

A second-level drop-down menu 727 may be populated based on theparticular option selected from the first drop-down menu in the depictedembodiment. Assume that “the office” is selected as the next high-leveldestination, and that the office happens to be located in a large campuswith several spots often visited by the individual on whose behalf thevehicle is being navigated. In such a scenario, the navigation managermay analyze a history of stopping points in the vicinity of the officewhich have been used by the individual in the past to perform varioustasks, and provide a list of corresponding finer-granularitydestinations in the second drop-down menu 727. For example, the choices“the cafeteria”, “conference room CR2”, “Jim's office”, and “my cubicle”are provided to the individual as places near to which the vehicle maybe parked. The cafeteria may be selected as an option based, forexample, on a determination that the individual often has lunch at thecafeteria at around the current time of day. The individual may oftenhave attended meetings in the recent few weeks in a particularconference room CR2, leading to the inclusion of CR2 in the drop-downmenu. “Jim” may be a manager or a colleague of the individual whoseoffice is often visited, and “my cubicle” may be the default choice asthe location at which much of the individual's normal working day isspent. In various embodiments in which text-based interfaces such asthat shown in FIG. 7 are used, the navigation manager may populateelements of a multi-option menu of the interface with respectivecontext-dependent text fragments. Individual ones of the text fragmentsmay indicate a respective intent or intended task, e.g., from a set oftasks which the individual using the interface has performed frequentlyin the past, or a task which is indicated by a sign or landmark. Thenavigation manager may detect the task (and thereby identify a specificlocation or stopping point, such as a parking space, towards which thevehicle should be moved) based on the signals from the interfaceindicating the particular text fragment which has been selected from themulti-option menu. In various embodiments, controls enabling theindividual to provide new first-level and/or second-level choices (suchas the “enter new” field in menu 725) may be provided. The general goalof a text-based menu similar to that shown in FIG. 7 may be to provide away for conversational-level input from the individual to be used by thenavigation manager to transport the individual to desired destinations,and also to determine appropriate paths to be taken in the vicinity of agiven destination which may have multiple entrances or multiple stoppingpoints. In some embodiments, a multi-option menu whose options arerepresented by respective graphical symbols or icons other than (or inaddition to) text may be used to determine the intent or task ofinterest to the individual.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example scenario in which a gesture made using ahandheld computing device or phone may be used to provide navigationguidance, according to at least some embodiments. In the depictedscenario, an occupant 810 of a vehicle who is authorized to providenavigational guidance for the vehicle, may make a gesture 822 indicativeof an intent while holding a phone 802 in one of the individual's hands.The gesture 822 may displace the phone 822 from position 821A toposition 821B, and the direction of the displacement of the phone maysuggest the desired direction of movement of the vehicle. The gesture822 may be accompanied by a voiced command 823, such as “Park overthere” in some cases.

In order to interpret the combination of the command and gesture, thenavigation manager may communicate with the phone 822 and analyze thecontents of the view which is visible from the cameras and/or othersensors of the phone in the depicted embodiment. In a top-down view ofthe visible scene 802, obtained for example from the camera's sensors asthe camera is displaced, arrow 859 indicates the direction of the phonegesture. A number of objects may be at least partly visible within someapproximate angular range 812 associated with the gesture. Theapproximate angular range may be determined by the navigation manager insome embodiments, and may for example be based on the capabilities ofthe phone camera's angle of view. The set of objects partially or fullyincluded in the angular range, and hence considered candidates forinterpreting the gesture and command, may include objects 845, 846, and855 in the depicted scenario, with object 855 being more distant thanobjects 845 and 846, and with objects 845 and 855 overlapping more fullywith the angular range than object 846. Object 862 may not be includedin the candidate set of objects, as it lies outside the angular range812.

The candidate objects may be ranked relative to one another by thenavigation manager in some embodiments, based for example on a varietyof factors such as the degree of overlap of the objects with the angularrange, the distances to the objects from the current location of thevehicle, the feasibility of parking near the objects (e.g., based on theapproximate count of parking spaces available), an estimated level ofinterest of the individual regarding the objects (which in turn may bebased on an analysis of the tasks performed by the individual in thevicinity in the past), and so on. In order to determine the particularobject near which the individual intends the vehicle to be parked, thenavigation manager 850 may issue a voiced query 804 in the depictedembodiment: “Did you mean park near <object 845> or near <object 855>?”In the example query shown, the highest ranked pair of objects areincluded as choices near which the vehicle could be parked. If theindividual provides an affirmative response regarding one of the choicespresented, the navigation manager 850 may cause the appropriate motiondirectives to be issued to cause the vehicle to move towards theselected choice. If the individual indicates that none of the offeredchoices was the one intended by the command and gesture, more options(such as object 846 or 862) may be provided in a second query, and theprocess may be continued until the intent of the individual iseventually determined. If the intent cannot be determined by thenavigation manager 850 using a particular combination of signaling modesin various embodiments, such as the gesture and command combinationdepicted in FIG. 8, a different mode may be used, or manual (e.g.,steering wheel-based) control of the vehicle may eventually be requiredfrom the individual.

In some embodiments, the navigation manager may be provided signals ofintent from outside the vehicle. FIG. 9 illustrates an example scenarioin which a gesture or touch signal provided by an authorized individualoutside a vehicle may be used to guide minor adjustments of the positionof the vehicle, according to at least some embodiments. In the depictedscenario, after the vehicle 950 is initially parked, an individualauthorized to provide navigational guidance for vehicle 950 maydetermine (after exiting the vehicle) that the position of the vehicleis unsatisfactory or suboptimal. The dashed lines show the intendedparking space ABCD which was ideally to have been occupied by thevehicle. One end of the vehicle (either the rear or the front) may jutout slightly across the parking space boundary line CD.

The vehicle 950 may be equipped with a touch-sensitive sensor 956 on itsexterior in the depicted embodiment. The authorized individual may makea touch-based signal or gesture 922, such as a swipe or gentle pushtowards the edge AB of the parking space, which is detectable by thetouch-sensitive sensor 956. The detected signal may be processed by thenavigation manager of the vehicle as an indication of a command toadjust the position of the vehicle. The navigation manager may transmitan appropriate motion directive to a motion control subsystem of thevehicle to initiate a vehicular movement in response to the command inthe depicted embodiment. As a result, the vehicle may be moved a shortdistance 923 in the indicated direction.

In some embodiments, instead of using a touch-sensitive orpressure-sensitive sensor, one or more cameras may be used to detectintent signals from the authorized individual to adjust the position ofthe vehicle 950. In some embodiments in which signals from individualsoutside the vehicle are used to move the vehicle, the identifyverification components of the navigation may utilize multipleidentification techniques to ensure that only signals from authorizedindividuals can be used to cause vehicular movements. For example, abiometric identification technique may be used in combination with acheck that the individual providing the signals also possesses anelectronic “key” for the vehicle. In some embodiments, signals from theexterior of the vehicle may be ignored by the navigation manager inaccordance with a default setting, and the default setting may have tobe overridden using an interface inside the vehicle before exteriorsignals can be used. In another embodiment, signals generated byindividuals outside the vehicle may not be used for navigationalpurposes.

In several of the example scenarios discussed above, the generalvicinity of the destination of a journey may have been providedexplicitly to the navigation manager, and intent signals may be usedprimarily after the vehicle has reached the vicinity. In someembodiments, the navigation manager may also be responsible for makingdecisions regarding the destination itself. FIG. 10 illustrates anexample spectrum of navigation manager autonomy, according to at leastsome embodiments. Along the spectrum 1023, situations involving agreater degree of autonomy of the navigation manager are shown towardsthe left, and situations involving a smaller degree of autonomy areshown towards the right.

At one extreme (the greater-autonomy extreme), an individual 1010authorized to provide guidance regarding the vehicle's movements maysimply express a general objective or goal regarding an activity ortask. For example, the individual may say something similar to “I wouldlike some coffee”, without being more specific about a particular coffeeshop or provider, or even any details regarding the kind of coffee, etc.In such a scenario, the navigation manager may for example select aparticular coffee shop, verify the acceptability of the particularcoffee shop, issue directives to reach the vicinity of the coffee shop,and find a parking space near the entrance to the coffee shop, asindicated in block 1050. The coffee shop may be selected, for example,based on some combination of factors such as a history of coffee shopusage by the individual 1010, proximity to the current location of thevehicle, coffee prices, etc. The individual 1010 may in effect leavemost of the decision making to the navigation manager, although theindividual may of course override the choices made by the navigationmanager (e.g., at the coffee shop level and/or at the parking spacelevel).

In contrast, at the other end of the autonomy spectrum 1023, theindividual 1010 may provide a more precise directive, such as theequivalent of “Let's go to the <ABC> coffee shop at the corner of54^(th) Street and Pine Avenue”. In this case, the scope of thedecisions that have to be made by the navigation manager may be muchmore limited; the navigation manager may, for example, select a highlevel route but otherwise follow the precise directive provided by theindividual 1010, as indicated in block 1060. Of course, in variousembodiments, a given navigation manager may be capable of differentlevels of autonomy, and as a result the scope of the decisions that haveto be made by the navigation manager may be determined by the authorizedindividual. That is, the navigation manager may adapt itself to thedegree of specificity and precision selected by the individual.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of operations which maybe performed at a system which enables guidance of vehicle navigationvia intent signals. As shown in element 1101, an indication of adestination of a journey to be completed using an autonomous or partlyautonomous vehicle may be obtained at a navigation manager associatedwith the vehicle. The information about the destination, such as astreet address of a large retail store or an airport may be sufficient,for example, to identify a high-level route to be used to get to thevicinity of the destination, but an exact stopping point (such as aparticular parking space) may not have been identified when thedestination is indicated. Any of a number of different interfaces orsensor devices may be used to obtain the indication of the destination,such as microphone used for verbal commands, a map-based interface, atext-based interface, or the like.

The navigation manager of the vehicle may detect when the vicinity ofthe destination is reached (element 1104), e.g., when a parking lotassociated with the destination is entered from a street, or when thedistance to at least one entrance of a destination building is less thanV meters. Any of a number of different data sources or sensors may beused to detect that the destination vicinity has been reached, includingfor example GPS devices, cameras, and the like. The navigation managermay generate a request, e.g., a voiced request or a request shown on ascreen such as a heads-up screen, to request guidance from one or moreauthorized individuals in the vehicle regarding an intended stoppingpoint for the vehicle or a path that the vehicle should take in thevicinity of the destination in some embodiments.

The navigation manager may select default criteria for selecting astopping point (e.g., an attempt to find a parking space close to themain entrance of the destination may be made) in case no additionalguidance is provided by the individual(s) in the depicted embodiment(element 1107). In general, in various situations the navigation managermay generate at least one backup plan (determined, for example, toachieve a minimum level of safety while also directed towards a stoppingpoint associated with the destination) whenever guidance from anindividual via intent signals is anticipated, so that a lack of input(or delayed input) from the individual does not lead to undesiredconsequences.

The next set of intent signals may be detected from the individual(element 1110). The signals, which may be obtained via one or moresensors of the vehicle, such as cameras, microphones, touch-screensensors on portable devices or wired devices, and so on, may for exampleindicate an intended task or activity, identify a landmark or sign whichcan be viewed from the vehicle, or specify a direction in which thevehicle should be moved next. A variety of features of buildings orother objects may be indicated via the intent signals, includingexits/entrances, construction elements such as windows, walkways,loading docks, ramps, and the like, some of which may be indicated vianatural language descriptions such as “where the sidewalk starts”.Depending on the combination of sensors used, the signals may beanalyzed using any of a variety of algorithms, including for examplenatural language processing algorithms, object recognition algorithmsand the like. Signals of several different modes may be detected andinterpreted in some embodiments—e.g., a combination of a gesture and avoice command may be analyzed in an attempt to determine an intent ofthe individual. In various embodiments, at least a subset of the signalsmay be obtained via sensor devices or interfaces that are mechanicallydecoupled from steering or other control subsystems of the vehicle—so,for example, if the vehicle comprises a steering wheel or an analogoussteering component, such signals may be detected using sensor deviceswhich are not physically attached to or part of the steering wheel orsteering component.

One or more vehicular movements to be performed to facilitate theintended task/goal may be identified by navigation manager (element1113), e.g., based on the detected signals and on data sets indicatingthe vehicle's current external environment (collected from externalcameras and/or other sensors). Optionally, feedback may be provided tothe authorized individual to verify an authorized individual'sintention, e.g., using a vocalized message or a display.

One or more motion directives to cause initiation of the vehicularmovements may be transmitted to motion control subsystems of the vehicle(element 1116), such as the acceleration subsystem, the braking orturning subsystem, and so on. If an acceptable stopping point of thejourney has been reached (as detected in operations corresponding toelement 1119), such as a parking spot near an entrance which facilitatesthe task the individual (or other occupants of the vehicle) intended,the journey may be terminated (element 1122) or at least paused,enabling occupants to exit and perform the intended task. Thedetermination as to whether the stopping point is acceptable may be madeby the navigation manager in combination with the authorized individualin some embodiments, and may involve one or more additional interactionsbetween the individual and the navigation manager (e.g., the navigationmanager may announce that the destination has been reached, and wait forfurther guidance). If the stopping point is not acceptable (as alsodetected in operations corresponding to element 1119), one or moreadditional iterations of intent signal detection, interpretation andmotion directive generation may be performed (repeating operationscorresponding to elements 1110 onwards) until an acceptable stoppingpoint is eventually reached in the depicted embodiment.

In at least some embodiments, a server that implements a portion or allof one or more of the technologies described herein, including thetechniques to collect, obtain or process signals of various types(including gesture, gaze, voice, or touch-based intent signals emanatingfrom individuals as well as signals indicative of the individuals'external environment) and perform corresponding actions (such aschanging contents of various displays and initiating operations based onselected options), may include a general-purpose computer system thatincludes or is configured to access one or more computer-accessiblemedia. FIG. 12 illustrates such a general-purpose computing device 9000.In the illustrated embodiment, computing device 9000 includes one ormore processors 9010 coupled to a main memory 9020 (which may compriseboth non-volatile and volatile memory modules, and may also be referredto as system memory) via an input/output (I/O) interface 9030. Computingdevice 9000 further includes a network interface 9040 coupled to I/Ointerface 9030, as well as additional I/O devices 9035 which may includesensors of various types.

In various embodiments, computing device 9000 may be a uniprocessorsystem including one processor 9010, or a multiprocessor systemincluding several processors 9010 (e.g., two, four, eight, or anothersuitable number). Processors 9010 may be any suitable processors capableof executing instructions. For example, in various embodiments,processors 9010 may be general-purpose or embedded processorsimplementing any of a variety of instruction set architectures (ISAs),such as the x86, PowerPC, SPARC, or MIPS ISAs, or any other suitableISA. In multiprocessor systems, each of processors 9010 may commonly,but not necessarily, implement the same ISA. In some implementations,graphics processing units (GPUs) may be used instead of, or in additionto, conventional processors.

Memory 9020 may be configured to store instructions and data accessibleby processor(s) 9010. In at least some embodiments, the memory 9020 maycomprise both volatile and non-volatile portions; in other embodiments,only volatile memory may be used. In various embodiments, the volatileportion of system memory 9020 may be implemented using any suitablememory technology, such as static random access memory (SRAM),synchronous dynamic RAM or any other type of memory. For thenon-volatile portion of system memory (which may comprise one or moreNVDIMMs, for example), in some embodiments flash-based memory devices,including NAND-flash devices, may be used. In at least some embodiments,the non-volatile portion of the system memory may include a powersource, such as a supercapacitor or other power storage device (e.g., abattery). In various embodiments, memristor based resistive randomaccess memory (ReRAM), three-dimensional NAND technologies,Ferroelectric RAM, magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), or any of various typesof phase change memory (PCM) may be used at least for the non-volatileportion of system memory. In the illustrated embodiment, executableprogram instructions 9025 and data 1926 implementing one or more desiredfunctions, such as those methods, techniques, and data described above,are shown stored within main memory 9020.

In one embodiment, I/O interface 9030 may be configured to coordinateI/O traffic between processor 9010, main memory 9020, and variousperipheral devices, including network interface 9040 or other peripheralinterfaces such as various types of persistent and/or volatile storagedevices, sensor devices for gaze signal collection, gesture signalcollection, touch signal collection, external environmental signalcollection, voice collection, etc. In some embodiments, I/O interface9030 may perform any necessary protocol, timing or other datatransformations to convert data signals from one component (e.g., mainmemory 9020) into a format suitable for use by another component (e.g.,processor 9010). In some embodiments, I/O interface 9030 may includesupport for devices attached through various types of peripheral buses,such as a variant of the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) busstandard or the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, for example. Insome embodiments, the function of I/O interface 9030 may be split intotwo or more separate components, such as a north bridge and a southbridge, for example. Also, in some embodiments some or all of thefunctionality of I/O interface 9030, such as an interface to memory9020, may be incorporated directly into processor 9010.

Network interface 9040 may be configured to allow data to be exchangedbetween computing device 9000 and other devices 9060 attached to anetwork or networks 9050, such as other computer systems or devices asillustrated in FIG. 1 through FIG. 11, for example. In variousembodiments, network interface 9040 may support communication via anysuitable wired or wireless general data networks, such as types ofEthernet network, for example. Additionally, network interface 9040 maysupport communication via telecommunications/telephony networks such asanalog voice networks or digital fiber communications networks, viastorage area networks such as Fibre Channel SANs, or via any othersuitable type of network and/or protocol.

In some embodiments, main memory 9020 may be one embodiment of acomputer-accessible medium configured to store program instructions anddata as described above for FIG. 1 through FIG. 11 for implementingembodiments of the corresponding methods and apparatus. However, inother embodiments, program instructions and/or data may be received,sent or stored upon different types of computer-accessible media.Generally speaking, a computer-accessible medium may includenon-transitory storage media or memory media such as magnetic or opticalmedia, e.g., disk or DVD/CD coupled to computing device 9000 via I/Ointerface 9030. A non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium mayalso include any volatile or non-volatile media such as RAM (e.g. SDRAM,DDR SDRAM, RDRAM, SRAM, etc.), ROM, etc., that may be included in someembodiments of computing device 9000 as main memory 9020 or another typeof memory. Further, a computer-accessible medium may includetransmission media or signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, ordigital signals, conveyed via a communication medium such as a networkand/or a wireless link, such as may be implemented via network interface9040. Portions or all of multiple computing devices such as thatillustrated in FIG. 12 may be used to implement the describedfunctionality in various embodiments; for example, software componentsrunning on a variety of different devices and servers may collaborate toprovide the functionality. In some embodiments, portions of thedescribed functionality may be implemented using storage devices,network devices, or special-purpose computer systems, in addition to orinstead of being implemented using general-purpose computer systems. Theterm “computing device”, as used herein, refers to at least all thesetypes of devices, and is not limited to these types of devices.

CONCLUSION

Various embodiments may further include receiving, sending or storinginstructions and/or data implemented in accordance with the foregoingdescription upon a computer-accessible medium. Generally speaking, acomputer-accessible medium may include storage media or memory mediasuch as magnetic or optical media, e.g., disk or DVD/CD-ROM, volatile ornon-volatile media such as RAM (e.g. SDRAM, DDR, RDRAM, SRAM, etc.),ROM, etc., as well as transmission media or signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication mediumsuch as network and/or a wireless link.

The various methods as illustrated in the figures and described hereinrepresent exemplary embodiments of methods. The methods may beimplemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. The orderof method may be changed, and various elements may be added, reordered,combined, omitted, modified, etc.

Various modifications and changes may be made as would be obvious to aperson skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. It isintended to embrace all such modifications and changes and, accordingly,the above description to be regarded in an illustrative rather than arestrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: performing, at one or morecomputing devices: obtaining a first indication of a destination of avehicle, wherein a vicinity of the destination comprises a plurality ofvehicle stopping points; detecting, using one or more sensors, one ormore signals generated by an individual authorized to provide guidancewith respect to movements of the vehicle, wherein the one or moresignals are usable to determine a path towards a particular vehiclestopping point of the plurality of vehicle stopping points; identifying,based at least in part on (a) the one or more signals and (b) a data setpertaining to an external environment of the vehicle, one or morevehicular movements to be implemented to proceed along the path; andtransmitting a first directive to one or more motion control subsystemsof the vehicle to initiate at least a first vehicular movement of theone or more vehicular movements.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein at least one signal of the one or more signals is detected usinga sensor which is mechanically decoupled from a steering subsystem ofthe vehicle.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the vicinitycomprises a parking area, wherein individual ones of the plurality ofvehicle stopping points comprise respective parking spaces within theparking area, and wherein the particular vehicle stopping pointcomprises a particular parking space within the parking area.
 4. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more signals include aparticular signal indicating an intended task of the individual.
 5. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein a particular signal of the one ormore signals indicates one or more of: (a) a landmark object, (b) asign, or (c) a particular feature of a building.
 6. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein a particular sensor of the one or moresensors comprises one or more of: (a) a component of a portablecomputing device, (b) a component of a phone, (c) a touch-sensitiveinterface, (d) a microphone, (e) a camera, (f) a remote control device,or (g) a depth sensor.
 7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein saiddetecting the one or more signals comprises detecting one or moredisplacements of an icon on a graphical user interface.
 8. The method asrecited in claim 7, wherein the graphical user interface defines a gridrepresenting a plurality of discrete path segments which can betraversed within the destination vicinity, wherein the one or moredisplacements include a first displacement corresponding to a particulardiscrete path segment of the plurality of path segments.
 9. The methodas recited in claim 1, further comprising performing, by the one or morecomputing devices: providing, prior to said transmitting the firstdirective, an indication of the first vehicular movement to theindividual; and obtaining, from the individual, an indication that thefirst vehicular movement is acceptable.
 10. The method as recited inclaim 1, further comprising performing, by the one or more computingdevices: populating one or more elements of a multi-option menu withrespective options, wherein a particular option of the respectiveoptions indicates an intended task, wherein said detecting the one ormore signals comprises determining that the particular option has beenselected from the multi-option menu.
 11. A system, comprising: one ormore sensor devices; and a navigation manager implemented at least inpart at a computing device; wherein the navigation manager is configuredto: detect, using the one or more sensor devices, one or more signalsgenerated by an individual permitted to provide guidance with respect tomovements of a vehicle, wherein the one or more signals are usable todetermine a path towards a particular vehicle stopping point of aplurality of vehicle stopping points in a vicinity of a destination;identify, based at least in part on (a) the one or more signals and (b)a data set pertaining to an external environment of the vehicle, one ormore vehicular movements to be implemented to proceed along the path;and transmit a first directive to one or more motion control subsystemsof the vehicle to initiate at least a first vehicular movement of theone or more vehicular movements.
 12. The system as recited in claim 11,wherein the navigation manager is configured to: indicate a request forinput regarding a selection of a stopping point of the vehicle.
 13. Thesystem as recited in claim 12, wherein the navigation manager isconfigured to indicate the request for input in response to determiningthat the vicinity of the destination has been reached.
 14. The system asrecited in claim 11, wherein the one or more signals include aparticular signal indicating an intended task of the individual.
 15. Thesystem as recited in claim 11, wherein the navigation manager isconfigured to: provide, prior to transmitting the first directive, anindication of the first vehicular movement to the individual; andobtain, from the individual, an indication that the first vehicularmovement is acceptable.
 16. A non-transitory computer-accessible storagemedium storing program instructions that when executed on one or moreprocessors: detect, using one or more sensor devices, one or moresignals generated by an individual permitted to provide guidance withrespect to movements of a vehicle, wherein the one or more signals areusable to determine a path towards a particular vehicle stopping pointof a plurality of vehicle stopping points in a vicinity of adestination; identify, based at least in part on (a) the one or moresignals and (b) a data set pertaining to an external environment of thevehicle, one or more vehicular movements to be implemented to proceedalong the path; and transmit a first directive to one or more motioncontrol subsystems of the vehicle to initiate at least a first vehicularmovement of the one or more vehicular movements.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-accessible storage medium storing program instructions asrecited in claim 16, wherein the one or more signals include aparticular signal indicating an intended task of the individual.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-accessible storage medium storing programinstructions as recited in claim 16, wherein the instructions whenexecuted on the one or more processors: cause, prior to transmitting thefirst directive, an indication of the first vehicular movement to beprovided to the individual; and determine that the first vehicularmovement is acceptable to the individual.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-accessible storage medium storing program instructions asrecited in claim 16, wherein the instructions when executed on the oneor more processors: in response to determining that the vicinity of thedestination has been reached, cause a request for input regarding astopping point to be provided to the individual.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-accessible storage medium storing program instructions asrecited in claim 16, wherein the instructions when executed on the oneor more processors: detect one or more signals indicative of a commandto adjust a position of the vehicle, wherein the command is issued bythe individual while the individual is outside the vehicle; and transmitanother directive to the one or more motion control subsystems of thevehicle to initiate a different vehicular movement in response to thecommand.